Xi excluded from front page of Chinese mouthpiece, signs of tension in CCP

Mention of Xi Jinping was unusually absent from the front page of the People's Daily newspaper twice in one week

Trump and Xi shake hands in front of their respective national flags (By Associated Press)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Rumors have been circulating about shifting political undercurrents among Communist Party leadership after the name of the Chinese leader was unusually absent from the front page of People’s Daily -- twice in a single week.

The People’s Daily (人民日報), the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has been engaged in a fanatic campaign to craft a personality cult for Xi Jinping since his appointment as chairman, in a manner reminiscent of Mao, according to a report by Voice of America.

It is little wonder that when the name of Xi failed to appear on the front page of the CCP’s propaganda apparatus on both July 9 and July 15, the anomaly caused quite a stir. It is especially uncharacteristic of the publication, where Xi’s name has been omnipresent in news headlines on the front page.

As this unusual situation coincides with the heated trade war between the U.S. and China, some believe the odd editorial move by the management of the People’s Daily is aimed at cooling the frenzied effort of glorifying Xi, in case of a possible backlash against Xi’s tough stance in trade dealings with the world’s biggest economy, in a trade conflict that may impact China on a disastrous scale, the report wrote.

There has also been conjecture in the media about a rift within the Chinese leadership and suggestions that Xi could be faced with discontent from inside the party. The purported removal of Xi’s name on the most conspicuous place of the official newspaper could be a way of displaying such discontent, Central News Agency reported.

Xi was not mentioned on the front page of People's Daily on July 9 (Photo by CNA)